March 31, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Four extra-inning games and two others that were decided by one run highlighted a competitive first weekend of Patriot League play. In the end, Holy Cross (4-0), Navy (3-1) and Bucknell (3-1) came away with winning records.
Patriot League Baseball Release - 3.31.08 
Player of the Week (March 24-30)
John Avanzino, Bucknell So., IF/DH, Manhasset, N.Y.
Avanzino helped Bucknell to a 6-1 record, including a 3-1 mark in Patriot League play, by posting a .600 batting average (15-for-25) with five home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored for the Bison last week. He posted four home runs and eight RBI as Bucknell took three of four games at Army over the weekend. Avanzino hit at least one home run in three of the four contests against the Black Knights. He put up a gaudy 1.360 slugging percentage during the week. He now leads the Patriot League with a .433 batting average for the season. Avanzino earns Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Pitcher of the Week (March 24-30)
Matt Shapiro, Holy Cross So., P, Raynham, Mass.
Making his first career start, Shapiro set the tone for Holy Cross' four-game weekend sweep of Lehigh by firing a seven-inning complete-game shutout in a 1-0 Crusader victory in the opening contest between the teams on Saturday. He scattered two hits and two walks while recording a career-high five strikeouts. The seven innings were also a career high, and it was his first complete game. Shapiro receives his first Pitcher of the Week award.
Rookie of the Week (March 24-30)
Jonathan Wright, Navy Fr., OF, Arden, N.C.
Wright recorded a .545 batting average (12-for-22) with six RBI, six runs scored and five doubles to lead Navy to a 4-1 record last week, including three wins in four contests in the Patriot League-opening weekend series at Lafayette. He hit safely in all five games, with three contests of three hits or more. Wright went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs scored and two doubles in Navy's 13-5 victory in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader, and became the first Navy hitter this decade to notch four games of four hits or more in one season. He also helped throw out two Lafayette runners at home plate in Navy's 6-5, 13-inning victory in Sunday's second game, with one of those coming in the 12th inning. Wright earns his second Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor. He is the only student-athlete to win a second weekly award this season.
Patriot League Notebook
Barnburners Open Patriot League Season
Four extra-inning games and two others that were decided by one run highlighted a competitive first weekend of Patriot League play. Saturday's opening day action was especially intriguing, with five of the six contests that were decided in extra innings or by one run on that day. Holy Cross scored victories of 1-0 and 5-4 in 11 innings on Saturday on its way to a four-game sweep at Lehigh, while Navy and Lafayette split a pair of one-run games. The Mids and Leopards ended up playing a pair of extra-inning contests and another that was decided by one run in their series, with Navy winning three of four games in a set that pitted the top two teams in the League's preseason poll. Bucknell won three games at Army, though the Black Knights claimed the wildest win of the weekend by rallying from three down in the ninth and two down in the 13th for a 9-8, 13-inning win in Saturday's nightcap.
Successful Road Trips
The road teams came two extra-inning losses away from sweeping all 12 games on the Patriot League season-opening weekend. Road squads posted a 10-2 record, with Holy Cross winning all four games at Lehigh and Navy and Bucknell taking three at Lafayette and Army, respectively. The Crusaders earned the four-game sweep after recording a 4-13 record coming into the weekend and being picked sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Road squads were 7-5 on the season-opening weekend last year, but were 28-31 for the year.
More League Action
Positioning in the standings is on the line as teams that won season-opening series will take on teams that dropped the first set in this weekend's Patriot League games. Holy Cross puts its 4-0 League record on the line when it hosts 1-3 Army for four games in Worcester. Bucknell is on the road again, playing four games at a Lafayette team that hosts its final League series of the year. Navy and Lehigh play a home-and-home set, with a doubleheader in Annapolis on Saturday and two games in Bethlehem on Sunday. The top four teams at the end of the season make the Patriot League Tournament, which features best-of-three series played at the site of the higher seed and begins with the semifinals on May 10-11.
Lehigh and Lafayette Compete for the "Bell"
Patriot League rivals Lehigh and Lafayette would add another matchup to their season tally if they can both win their Tuesday games in the Liberty Bell Classic, which pits teams from the greater Philadelphia region. The tournament semifinals will have Lafayette hosting Delaware and Lehigh visiting Temple. The Liberty Bell Classic final will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on April 8. Lafayette defeated Lehigh, 7-3, for last year's title. Navy, Holy Cross and Lafayette will all play a pair of mid-week games.
Bucknell Lineup On a Tear
With a scorching offensive performance last week, Bucknell has boosted its Patriot League-leading batting average to .326. The Bison lead the League with 23 home runs, and their 203 runs are already 24 more than last year's final total. John Avanzino (.433) and Mark Angelo (383) are 1-2 in the Patriot League in batting average, with Jason Buursma hitting .435 but coming up one at bat short of qualifying for the League leaderboard. The Bison scored 52 runs in three games against Clarion and Susquehanna, its top three-game stretch since 1902.
Patriot League Players Filling up Watch Lists
Navy's Mitch Harris, Army's Cole White and Bucknell's Mathew Wilson have all been named to the 2008 Roger Clemens Award Watch List. They are part of a group of 78 pitchers up for the award as college baseball's pitcher of the year. That same trio was also named to the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Year Watch List before the season. Wilson and teammate Jason Buursma are two of the 30 candidates named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award watch list, while Holy Cross' Brendan Akashian is one of 36 catchers named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch list, which goes to the top catcher in the country.
Team Notebooks
Army The Black Knights dropped three of four games at home to Bucknell to open the Patriot League schedule over the weekend. The lone win came in dramatic fashion, as Army rallied from 6-3 down in the ninth and 8-6 with two outs and nobody on in the 13th for a 9-8 win in 13 innings on Saturday. Freshman Clint Moore had two home runs and five RBI in the victory, his second two-home run game in the last week. He tied the score with a three-run shot in the ninth and also had a key RBI single in the 13th. Andy Ernesto won the contest with a two-run triple. The Black Knights have not won a League opener since 2001, and rallied to finish in second place after an 0-4 start last season. The Black Knights play a Tuesday game at Columbia and have a four-game set at Holy Cross over the weekend.
Bucknell The Bison won three of four contests at Army to begin the Patriot League season with a 3-1 mark. They also notched three wins in the middle of the week against Clarion and Susquehanna. John Avanzino and Jason Buursma combined for nine home runs in the week. Buursma also picked up a win against Army on Saturday, and leads the Patriot League with four wins. The Bison surpassed their 2007 team total for runs scored this week. In 25 games, Bucknell has scored 203 runs, while finishing last season with 177 over 40 contests. Avanzino (.433) and Mark Angelo (.383) lead the Patriot League in batting average, with Buursma at .435 but just one at bat shy of qualifying for the leaderboard. Bucknell leads the Patriot League with a .326 team batting average. In the team's first three games this week, the Bison scored 52 runs, their most in a three-game stretch since 1902. Bucknell is on the road this week, playing at Penn State on Wednesday and then taking on Lafayette over the weekend.
Holy Cross The Crusaders got off to a fast start in League play by sweeping a four-game series at Lehigh over the weekend. They won a pair of tight games on Saturday, with Matt Shapiro pitching a complete game in a 1-0 triumph in the opener and Matt Perry driving in the game-winning run in a 5-4, 11-inning victory in the nightcap. With the sweep, the Crusaders doubled their win total coming into the weekend. Holy Cross returns with mid-week action against Massachusetts and Harvard, then hosts Army in a four-game weekend League series.
Lafayette The Leopards took just one of four games at home in a tightly-contested Patriot League series against Navy. Kevin Reese gave up just one unearned run and threw all eight innings as the Leopards won the series opener, 2-1, on Saturday. Zach Fritz went eight innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts in the nightcap on Saturday, but came away with a no-decision in the 3-2 loss. Lafayette also fell, 6-5, in 13 innings in the series finale on Sunday. The series matched the defending champion Leopards against preseason favorite Navy, and the teams had the best two records in the League coming into the weekend. Lafayette continues its homestand this week, playing Delaware in a Liberty Bell Classic game on Tuesday and hosting Bucknell in a four-game League set over the weekend.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks dropped all four games of a Patriot League series at home against Holy Cross over the weekend. They had a pair of close calls on Saturday, losing 1-0 in the opener and 5-4 in 11 innings in the nightcap. The Mountain Hawks did win their first round Liberty Bell Classic game against Villanova on Tuesday, and advance to the second round at Temple on Tuesday. They play a four-game series against Navy over the weekend, with a Saturday doubleheader in Annapolis and Sunday's in Bethlehem.
Navy The Mids earned a hard-fought series win at Lafayette, taking three of four games in a set where three contests were decided by one run. After losing in extra innings in Saturday's opener, Navy won the nightcap, 3-2, with a two-run home run by Thomas Hamilton in the ninth inning. The Mids also earned a 6-5, 13-inning win in Sunday's series finale. The bullpen allowed just five runs in 16.2 innings in Sunday's action, which also included a 13-5 win. The pen notched all four wins during the week, which also included an 8-7 triumph over Towson on Wednesday. Navy has won 11 of its last 14 games overall. The Mids have played six one-run games in their last eight contests, and are 5-1 in those matchups. Navy improved to 11-1 in Patriot League season-opening weekends in Head Coach Paul Kostacopoulos' three seasons. Navy plays a pair of mid-week games, then has a four-game, home-and-home series with Lehigh over the weekend. Navy will host Saturday's doubleheader and go to Lehigh on Sunday.
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